A Murder Mystery
by uitonii
Summary: Why couldn't he have just told the girl that he had no clue where her dorm was? Something in him had found the girl alluring and he wanted to help her. But now, here they were, stuck in the Rec Center with a psychopath who left bodies in old auditoriums and puzzling clues to their escape, and he could only hope they got out alive. (College AU, Garry x Ib)
1. Orientation and Overdue Library Books

A/N: Hey-o! First fanfiction I've written in QUITE a long time, but I've fallen in love with the Ib game and I just had to do this college AU. I'm praying I keep them in character as much as possible, so crossing my fingers here. Enjoy~ (reviews and all that are very appreciated, as I'm sure you know!)

Disclaimer: Ib doesn't belong to me, just this silly idea.

* * *

The evening was quickly falling down on a group of young students as they toured their future university's campus. Orientation for the recent high school graduates had begun earlier the following day, and for most had been an exciting affair. But, for one eighteen-year-old girl, it had been nothing but dull.

Ib was impressed with the university's buildings and resources, and she was extremely proud of her admission there, but she had visited before and seen everything she had wanted to see. Now, every tour was redundant and her interest was lost quickly. She really just wanted to explore for herself, searching for the hidden nooks and crannies it took some students their full four years at the school to discover.

"This is one of my favorite spots on campus. The university asked one of our alumni to complete this…"

The upperclassman who was leading the tour had stopped the group to admire a mural on the outside of the student union, giving Ib a chance to finally inspect her surroundings without the probability of bumping into the back of someone. His voice was eventually drowned out by her own musings as she found a particularly interesting group of people to observe, feeling a little inadequate as a college student. She refused to smoke or wear ironic sweaters, or dye her hair wild colors or pierce anything but her ears. She knew that not every college student looked that way, but staring at that group of people, laughing at something amusing on one of their tablets, made her wonder if that was the only way to clearly identify one. Looking down at her own clothes, a white, short-sleeved blouse and denim shorts, she knew she wouldn't fit in well with that group of people.

"How odd…" she mumbled to herself, blinking away her stream of thought. She turned back to inspect the mural that the tour leader had pointed out, but found herself alone. "Oh."

The group had continued on without her, it seemed, and she was left to make a decision.

She could try to catch up with them – they couldn't have gone very far at all, probably just inside the student union building – or she could go on her own adventure. It would be much interesting that way, she knew; more people to watch, more places to explore. From the moment she checked in the day before, she had been led around like a stupid lamb, shepherded from building to building (not even some of the most interesting ones she had read up on) and told which classes to take and how to plan her future. There had not been a moment of independent thinking that entire time.

Now, as she was standing alone, finally allowed to do as she pleased, she realized that her choice was an easy one.

* * *

"Listen, I know that this book is overdue, but I was going to check it out again anyways. I don't see the point in paying the fee if I was just going to check it out again."

"I'm sorry, Sir, but that's just how it goes here. You don't turn in the book, you have to pay the fee."

"But, I don't have the money for the fee right now! That's what I'm getting at here."

"_I am sorry, Sir_. But I _can't _do anything about it. Your book was overdue two weeks – the fee is nearly twenty dollars. You should have had the book back at the library when you were supposed to and check it out again here."

"Ugh. Fine. I'll just bring the money tomorrow."

Garry was clearly defeated. As ridiculous as the situation seemed to him, the book in question was indeed two weeks late and he would have to hand over the money if he wanted to check anything else out from the school's library. As a grad student beginning his second year, he would need as many free resources as he could get his hands on. A thesis paper was expected from him at the end of the next summer, and without even an idea of what to write for it, he knew that he'd be spending most of his time outside the studio among the old and dusty books.

Pushing the faded purple hair from his face, the tall man braced himself for the summer heat and stepped outside. He reached into the pocket of his jeans (even in this weather he couldn't bear to wear anything else) and pulled out a cigarette, fumbling with the lighter.

"E-excuse me!"

The cigarette had just barely brushed against his lips when he heard the voice. After his argument with the librarian, he was half expecting her to have followed him outside for some reason, probably to just agitate him further about his lack of money or responsibility to turn a book in on time.

"What? What is it that you want now?" he began with an angry start, turning to face the librarian he expected to be there.

He immediately regretted it.

"Pardon?"

The girl looked pretty young, long dark hair framing a stoic face. She wasn't extraordinarily beautiful or physically fascinating in any way, but there was something about her that Garry felt was familiar, like he knew her in a past life (if he even believed in that sort of thing).

"Um, could you direct me to the freshman dormitory?" The girl furrowed her brows at him, voice a little quieter than he expected for such a determined looking person. It became immediately obvious to him that she was an incoming student there for her summer orientation and she was lost.

Unfortunately for her, though, Garry wasn't quite sure where the freshman dorm was. There was no way a twenty-seven-year-old would live on campus, so he didn't even bother with learning the dormitories' locations.

_You can't just leave her here by herself, though_, he thought. _She's so young and small – one of those frat guys could easily give her some trouble._ The idea of her being approached by some unsavory characters made him feel uneasy. Even if he had only just met the girl, he felt this odd responsibility to take care of her.

"Sure! I know right where to go!" Garry lied. "I'll even escort you there myself." He flicked the barely lit cigarette onto the concrete and crushed the burnt end with the heel of his shoe before flashing her a smile. "The name is Garry, by the way. What's yours?"

"Ib," the girl answered simply.

"Ib, huh? That's a pretty interesting name."

"Uh, yeah. I suppose." She looked almost embarrassed, but it was too hard to tell with how her hair fell in front of her face. Either way, Garry thought she was cute and he would try his best to find that dorm, even if he got lost in the process too.

Starting towards a mainly glass building across the street from the library, Garry stuffed both hands into the pockets of his jeans and said, "I like it, the name 'Ib.'"

For the first time that day, Ib felt herself smile, and as she followed the much taller man, she was suddenly very glad to have strayed from the flock.


	2. A Lost Guide and Unfortunate Shortcut

**AN**: If you're still reading this and not bored out of your mind, I'd like to thank you! The story really gets its kick in the butt at the end of this chapter, so there will be some more action and drama and all that good stuff to keep you going (hopefully!).

* * *

Ib soon learned that Garry's idea of escorting her to the dorms was leading her through almost every building they came across, reveling in the air-conditioned hallways before venturing back outside into the humidity of a warm summer evening. She became almost absolutely certain after the third building they went through that Garry had no idea where he was taking her, but she didn't have the heart to admit it to him. Instead, she walked beside him and listened to his anecdotes of college life (she supposed he was trying to impart wisdom onto her or something) or occasionally answering his questions.

Garry started off with the same questions she had been answering since the moment she stepped foot onto campus, like where she was from and what she was majoring in. When most people had asked those questions it seemed like it was more out of obligation than actual interest, and she responded as curtly and simply as possible, but her new companion seemed genuinely intrigued.

"So you're getting into art history, huh?" Garry grinned, pushing the shaggy purple hair from his face for the umpteenth time in those last twenty minutes. "I'm a grad student in the studio art program, you know. It kind of sucks, because we still have these ridiculous thesis papers we have to write along with a complete gallery show, but it's been such a wonderful experience so far. I've met a lot of great art history majors while I've been here, too – you'll love the professors and the teaching assistants."

"Oh, I'm glad," Ib replied. "Not many people understand why someone would want to make a career out of something like art."

Making a face, her companion shook his head. "They just underestimate people like us. They don't think it's possible to make a living off of doing what you love. I've been into art for nearly fifteen years already and I couldn't imagine doing anything else."

"Fifteen years? How old are you, exactly?"

"Just turned twenty-seven last week! I'm sure I must seem like a really old man to you, right?"

"No, you don't. I enjoy the company of older people better anyways."

Laughing, the young man admitted, "I'm glad that you feel that way! I would have been very disappointed if you didn't like my company, seeing as how I'm very much starting to like yours. You're a bit quiet, you know that? But you have such a calm way about you, I can't help but feel calm too.

"Ah, here's the Rec Center!" Garry stopped them in front of a wide building mainly made from brick, with tall windows that allowed for a view of students playing a late game of basketball inside. "We'll walk through it for the air conditioning and a shortcut," he explained to the girl, who was tugging at the hem of her loose white blouse and looking very unsure. She was beginning to wonder if she'd have more luck finding the dorms on her own now…

But, Ib found herself following Garry into the building regardless of her trepidations. There was something about him that she couldn't just leave, and she had been so determined to go an adventure earlier that day, even if it only consisted of walking through some of the un-toured buildings and following a very talkative (and lost) guide.

The inside of the Rec Center was much bigger than Ib expected, and slightly less noisy. There was the faint squeak of tennis shoes against the basketball court floor and the music that played over the intercom; Ib even thought she heard voices coming from multiple hallways or staircases that opened up into the lobby, but it was getting so late, she couldn't imagine there'd be that many people still there.

"Okay, so this isn't really part of the shortcut, but the Old Wing is pretty cool looking," Garry informed her as he motioned towards one of the staircases at the back of the lobby. "It's the original entrance, and when they were redoing the place they just couldn't demolish it, so it's become a kind of a hang out for people."

It was a little dank on the lower level, and the lights flickered above their heads as Garry and Ib stepped into the Old Wing's lobby. Even though Garry had seemed comfortable enough talking about it upstairs, Ib could tell he was a little weary of the place in the state it was in – it looked like something out of a suspense movie.

"It, uh, it seems like a monster or whatever could jump out at us any moment now, right?" Garry quickly felt the eerie ambience of the room, his strides abruptly slowing and shoulders tensing the further they walked into the lobby. "This is a lot creepier than I remember. Are you scared at all?"

Before Ib could answer, a loud cry caught them both off guard and elicited an embarrassingly high shriek from the older of the two.

"_No! _Please, don't! I'll do anythi—"

The far off voice was suddenly cut off and followed by a crash that echoed throughout the Old Wing. Ib could feel Garry closer beside her than he was just a few seconds ago, his hands inches away from grasping her shoulders in a desperate search for comfort.

"Wh-what was that?" the older man sputtered.

Ib could only stare intently in the direction they had heard the startling noises, and with curiosity (and perhaps a little bit of foolishness) began approaching the double doors she would have sworn the voice was behind.

"Ib! Ib, what are you doing? We need to leave!" Garry pleaded, suddenly regretting his idea of exploring the Rec Center. They should have just gone around it like normal people, or finally check a map to see where on earth that dorm was.

"Don't be scared, Garry," the small girl insisted quietly, holding out a hand for him to take. She waited patiently for him to reach forward and grasp her hand with some doubt and anxiety before gingerly pushing the double doors open.

_Strange_, Ib mused. _An auditorium? It looks like it hasn't been used in years. What is it doing in an old __recreational center?_

Before them were rows of old chairs that had once been vibrantly colored but were now faded to a sickly colored green and most likely moth-eaten. A heavy, red velvet curtain shrouded the stage at the front of the auditorium, pulled back to the sides with a braided rope.

But, it wasn't enough to distract from the bloody limb sticking out from behind it.

"Oh, god…" Garry mumbled, the color draining from his face. "Is that—"

"A body?" Ib finished. "I think so."

Garry promptly let go of her hand to vomit onto the floor behind them.


	3. Flickering Lights and Bloody Footprints

**AN**: I'm just so excited about this I had to write up the next chapter as soon as I could. I hope you enjoy it!

* * *

Feeling sorry for the man, Ib reached into the bag she had slung over her shoulder to pull out her water bottle, and handed it to him when she was certain he was done, grimacing at the sight.

"Ugh, sorry," Garry mumbled, accepting the water bottle and squirting its contents into his mouth. He made a face before giving it back, but looked a little better than he did before – Ib noticed the color returning to his cheeks. "Thanks."

Ib nodded before shoving the bottle back into her bag, making a mental note to not drink from it until she washed it thoroughly, and took a few curious steps towards the stage.

"I-Ib! What are you doing?"

"I'm gonna check it out."

"But, the k-killer might could still be here!"

"Maybe."

Garry stood rooted to his spot in the back of the auditorium, astonished at the girl's bravery. How could she seem so calm in this situation? There was a _bloody body_ on that stage, for Heaven's sake! They needed to run for their own precious lives and call the police.

But Ib didn't share his thoughts, apparently.

She had reached the stage and removed her bag from her shoulders before hoisting her small self onto the black platform. Ignoring Garry's sounds of protests, she continued on, towards the still body that lied behind the curtain, marinating in a pool of what looked like fresh blood. It was a young man, probably only a year or two older than her, with a pretty nasty gash on the top of his head, blond hair stained red. He wasn't even twitching like Ib had seen in the movies.

"Holy shit."

Garry had mustered up his courage to finally follow her, peering over from his vantage point at the edge of the stage. Trying not to gag, he turned his head away from the sight and covered his mouth.

"It looks like he was hit over the head with something," Ib began, tearing her eyes from the body to glance at Garry. She was eerily unperturbed by the fresh corpse merely three feet away from them. "Hey, are you going to be alright?"

In response, Garry shook his head, leaning his hands against his knees as he tried to keep a healthy amount of air in his lungs. He felt like he was going to pass out.

Just then, the lights of the auditorium began to flicker. Garry straightened up almost immediately and his face was nearly as white as a sheet. If things kept going as they were, he was certain he would be adding another pile of his stomach contents onto that stage.

"Ib, I think we ought to get out of here." It was more of a plea than an idea.

But, Ib hadn't seemed to hear Garry. She was much more intrigued by her new discovery to remember fear. "Look! There are footprints leading to that door over there." The fresh, red globs of someone's shoe prints had caught her eye and she was immensely interested in where they went. They looked like they were going towards one of the side doors behind the stage.

The lights flickered again, threatening to go off completely. Garry choked back a cry.

"Let's see where they go," Ib suggested, turning back to the older man. He clearly wasn't interested in doing anything but getting out of there, but she was going on with or without him, and with a gaze as set and determined as hers Garry knew it.

Garry sighed exasperatedly. "What if the killer is behind that door, huh? We could be their next victim! We have no way to protect ourselves."

"I have pepper spray in my bag," Ib offered.

"Yes, because pepper spray will stop someone from smashing our heads in!"

The brunette shrugged. "It could buy us some time to run."

"Dear god, you're really wanting to find this person, aren't you?" Garry looked aghast.

Silent, Ib walked back to the edge of the stage to grab her bag and slung it back over her shoulder, digging around in it until she pulled out a small can of pepper spray. Then, just as the lights began to flicker for the third time, she followed the bloody footprints past the body and towards the door shrouded in darkness, her pepper spray at the ready.

"Oh, come on! We're just going to leave this guy here?" Rubbing his forehead with shaking hands, Garry mustered up his courage and hurried after her, but not without shooting a look of disgust and loathing at the bleeding corpse. He supposed that it was his fault that they came across the body anyways, and if he was going to die that night he didn't want to die alone.

* * *

When the click of the door closing behind the two echoed throughout the auditorium, the body suddenly began to move.

It wasn't just a twitch or a last struggle for life.

The body actually sat up and stretched its red stained limbs with a yawn, bright green eyes blinking and looking around at the stage. He grinned at the red liquid pooled below him and the little clues that led to the culprit of such a heinous murder. _God, this is exciting_, he thought to himself, noticing the footprints that led away from him.

"This is gonna be the best Murder Mystery Party the drama department has ever had," he determined aloud, lying back down in his puddle of dark red paint. He wasn't sure how the other groups of the party were going to compare to that first couple, though – he could have sworn he heard one of them pretending to puke by the doors. "Genius," he sighed before closing his eyes and falling back into his role of the murdered man, waiting for the other members of the party to come across him.

* * *

**AN**: I hope that caught you off guard and made you laugh a little bit. Goodness knows I laughed a little too much just thinking about this scene. Anywho, thanks for reading and please review and all that good stuff!


	4. A Vice President and a Clue

**AN**: Thank you for the sweet reviews so far! I hope that you guys enjoy sticking with me in this~ so please keep reviewing and reading!

* * *

Ib led Garry into a dimly lit hall that the bloody footprints had disappeared into, the trail quickly becoming cold. The red marks on the floor had dwindled into almost nothing about three strides in, but Ib wasn't discouraged.

"It was a woman," she concluded after a few moments of silence. She was crouched down besides the first pair of prints near the door they had just come through, inspecting its shape.

Glancing around nervously, Garry stood close beside her, fighting the urge to snatch the can of pepper spray from her hands and stand guard with it. If they were attacked right then and there, there was no way Ib could protect them with the way she was all folded up near the ground. "How do you know it was a woman?" he asked, voice high with nerves.

Ib slowly unfolded herself as she straightened up. "These are heels. So, unless it's a man who likes to wear women's high heeled shoes, it's a woman," the girl explained.

Garry was about to inform her that there were men who liked to dress as women did, so they shouldn't not expect the killer to be a burly, lipstick wearing male, but the fluorescent lighting above their heads popped suddenly and everything went black. He fought the urge to scream. The only comfort in that situation was feeling Ib jump slightly beside him – maybe she was human, after all.

"H-hang on, I think I can use my phone as a flashlight." Again, Garry felt Ib move beside him, this time rummaging through the contents of her purse until she pulled out a cell phone and illuminated a very small space around them with the light of its screen. It wasn't much, but it would do.

"So, what now, Detective?" A little agitated and very much afraid, Garry crossed his arms over his chest, feeling as though the darkness was weighing down upon him. "How are we going to find the killer like this?"

"We keep going," Ib answered, moving forward. "You can stay here, if you'd like. But I'm taking my light and pepper spray with me, so you're screwed."

_Ah, yes_, Garry thought, _some emotion. _Even if it was irritation, Garry would take it.

The man took a long stride after her, his decision clear. "Right, right, sorry."

* * *

Mary had been elected vice president of the Drama Club just as the spring semester had ended, and upon hearing the news of her appointed position, she could have died of happiness. She would be the youngest vice president the club had had in the past ten years, only a sophomore at the university! And she was determined to make it the best vice presidency she could.

Part of the vice president's duties was to plan club outings and campus-wide activities that invited everyone, not just its members, to embark on a theatrical journey with the drama students. Anyone with a passion for acting was welcomed to join in on some of their events, like the small Renaissance fair that was put on at the soccer field or the improvisation competitions held at the end of each spring. Both of those things had enticed Mary into the position of vice president, but neither could compare to the annual Murder Mystery Party.

For the past four years, every summer before the fall semester began, the Drama Club hosted a Murder Mystery in a different building on campus, usually any of the oldest and creepiest buildings the school had to offer. They would invite everyone to join who happened to be on campus that summer for a whole night of "Suspenseful Fun" and promised a prize for the team that could solve the mystery first. They usually received a pretty great turnout, and tonight was no different.

As Mary watched from the suspended catwalk above the stage, she was delighted at how many groups were following her carefully laid clues to the scene of the "crime" and acting so beautifully! There were tears, promises of revenge, and one man even pretended to vomit – it was some of the best acting she had seen at one of their public events.

The first couple to come across the body was, by far, the most interesting though. The man who had pretended to puke was half of that pair, Mary remembered wistfully, mentally storing that idea away for the next time she performed a melodramatic monologue in class.

She couldn't remember seeing them in the information meeting held the day before, but she had been so excited to speak in front of so many people it wouldn't have surprised her if she had just glanced over them. Although, purple hair wouldn't have gone unnoticed easily.

Either way, they were good, and Mary was very impressed. She couldn't believe that it had taken them so quickly to find the "body" either. She and Weiss, the Drama Club's historian, had just finished laying out the scene when the first couple found him acting dead on the stage. She was lucky that she was able to run off as fast as she did, otherwise the whole mystery part of the Murder Mystery would have been ruined. It had taken the other groups at least fifteen more minutes to work through the clues she had posted around the Rec Center and find Weiss! Even if the couple didn't realize that she was the culprit, she was giving them a gift card for someplace nice for their fast detective work.

After the fifth group came through the auditorium, Mary decided it was time to take her leave and join in on the fun. She had been so excited when her name was pulled from the hat to be the murderer in their little game, so she was prepared to play with these people till dusk if it took that long for them to figure it out.

"Hey, Weiss, I'm gonna find a group to join! Keep up the good work!" the blond girl hissed from the catwalk.

The body gave a thumbs-up before letting his arm fall back down to his side. Mary smiled at her friend, so proud of how gruesome she and the rest of the club officers had managed to make him look, and then took her leave, quietly leaving her perch.

She hoped she could find the short girl and her purple-haired companion – she had a feeling they'd be the most fun to act with.

* * *

Shortly after they had ventured into the darkness of the hallway, Ib and Garry were relieved to find a small sliver of light emanating from underneath a door. Garry, still just as frightened as he was from the start of their adventure, begged her to keep her pepper spray at the ready as she turned the doorknob and pushed.

Thankfully, Ib didn't need it.

The room was empty, save for a counter against the left wall and a few stacked chairs in the corner beside it. Two other doors led to goodness knew where, one on the wall directly in front of Ib as she stepped inside the room and the other to her right. She frowned, not knowing what to think of it.

"Maybe we should see if they lead anywhere that could get us out of here," Garry suggested, moving towards the one to the right.

"I don't know if they'd be an exit. One of them is probably a closet."

Sure enough, as Garry tugged open the door, he discovered a small, empty coat closet. "Okay, then what about this one?" He pointed to the remaining door and walked briskly to it.

"Damn, it's locked," he mumbled, jangling the metal knob.

Ib sighed disappointedly and joined him on the other side of the room by the door, twisting the doorknob to see for herself that it was really locked, just as Garry had said. She was half hoping to swing it open and find another trail of some sort that would lead them to some dramatic conclusion to the evening, but no such luck. Figured.

"Hey, what's that?"

Thoughts interrupted, Ib's eyes followed the direction Garry was pointing. A small piece of yellowed paper was slipped in between the seats of the stacked chairs beside them, a line of ink on the page peeking out from beneath its hiding place.

Garry reached past Ib to pull at the piece of paper, brows furrowed as he straightened it out in front of him and read its message.

"'In the darkness and along the edges, you will find the key. But beware – the sudden chill will have meant you've gone too far,'" Garry recited, mouth twisting into a frown. "What kind of crazy killer leaves notes like this?" He turned to Ib, who could only shrug.

"I have no clue, but I think we should find that key."


	5. An Oddly Hidden Key

A/N: Welp, I am terribly sorry it's taken so long to update! Life has been a bit busy and I just didn't have time to work on this. I feel like the story is a little slow, so I'm trying to come up with more ideas to make it better, but I just don't know - my brain is mush lately. But thank you so much for reading and keeping up with the story! It is greatly appreciated, and I hope you continue to be patient with me and leave some good feedback!

* * *

_Of course she wants to go look for the key_, Garry thought. Why couldn't he have just told the girl that he had no clue where her dorm was? He would be back in his apartment at this point, snug on the couch with a beer in hand and some independent film playing on HBO. It would have been quite a pleasant evening, he was sure.

But, something in him had found the girl alluring, and he wanted to help her. It was like he had met her before, like in some past life, if he even believed in that sort of thing. How could he refuse her when he felt so drawn to her?

"Garry, you coming?"

Ib was standing in the doorway, one foot already extended into the black abyss of the hall. Aforementioned foot tapped impatiently.

"Yeah, yeah," the man mumbled before following her and making sure the door was left open to let some light stream into the hallway. He cringed outwardly at feeling, once again, extremely frightened and uncomfortable. Even with some of their surroundings dimly illuminated, it was still difficult to make out what was around them. Garry saw a picture frame crooked on the wall and an old fire extinguisher in its case further down. His eyes drifted down to the edge of the wall where it met with old linoleum flooring.

That's when he noticed Ib on her hands and knees, slender fingers running along the bottom of wall and the floor directly beneath it. In the dim light, Garry thought he saw her glance over her shoulder back at him. He was suddenly uncomfortably aware of his own heartbeat, now thudding hard against his ribs. He could have sworn she heard it, because she paused momentarily, head lifted, before resuming her search.

_What's wrong with you, Garry? The girl is barely legal – don't even think about it._

The purple-haired man shook his head clear before starting to the other side of the hall to search for the key.

"Crap!" Ib had stopped. She felt the cool air from a vent near the floor. "We went too far. That whole 'sudden chill' thing was talking about the air conditioning."

"We haven't looked on this side yet," Garry pointed out. "I'll check this side."

_Good. Distract yourself_.

Garry began to run his hands along the wall and floor like Ib was doing before, making his way back towards the door of the lit room. A few feet forward, his fingers brushed over something that was a slightly different texture than the rest of the wall.

"Hey, Ib, hand me your phone."

Without a word, Garry heard Ib rummaging through her bag to find her phone again, a few moments later handing it over. He thought he felt her shiver when she finally found his hand, the back of her thumb brushing against his palm. Her hand was so warm, despite the eerie cold of the hallway. He imagined for a moment what she would do if he wrapped his fingers around her hand and pulled her down towards him. She would be so close, close enough for him to feel her breath against his skin, to smell the perfume on her neck. Close enough to press his mouth against hers and envelope her in his arms until they both forgot about the killer and her stupid clue.

Goodness, he needed to stop thinking about that.

He fumbled around with the device for a second, head whirling with his own embarrassment and guilt, before finding the button to turn the screen on. Using it as a flashlight, he held it over the spot on the wall.

Ib knelt down beside him to share his discovery. "The killer taped the key to the wall?"

Tearing at the pieces of masking tape, Garry took the copper colored key and turned it over in his hands. "This is so strange. I don't understand why a killer would do any of this, or even have the time to leave this kind of stuff around." Garry straightened himself up, handing the phone back to Ib and clutching the key tightly in his hands. "Something isn't right."

"Maybe she's one of those killers that likes to play with her victims' heads before she ultimately kills them," Ib offered. "I've seen a lot of specials on television about people like that." Sadly, Garry realized she was being completely serious.

"Well, let's hope we can get out of here before she ultimately kills us, then."

Mary could hear voices down one of the hallways as she crept quietly through her carefully laid out trail of clues. She had already run into one group of students who had gone the opposite way of the first group upon leaving the stage. She easily played the part of the lost and scared survivor, friend of the deceased and first to discover his body. The three girls immediately welcomed her character into their brood, but Mary found herself bored very soon after. They had only found one clue of hers, and they couldn't even figure it out. It became very apparent that it would be by the grace of God if these girls won. So, when they had their backs turned, distracted by the text one of them had received from some guy, Mary slipped away.

And so she found herself in one of the hallways that she had stationed a freshman at, ordered to shut the lights off at the sign of anyone coming down it. She immediately spotted the light of one of the adjacent rooms and strained her ears to hear what the two voices were saying to each other.

"I've seen a lot of specials on television about people like that."

"Well, let's hope we can get out of here before she ultimately kills us, then."

* * *

Mary knew almost instantly that the voices belonged to the first couple to find Weiss. The guy had the same higher-pitched voice, and the girl sounded just as serious as she did before. It seemed like they were finding some of her clues, and taking the whole acting thing very seriously. Even when it was just the two of them, they were staying in character. She admired that.

She heard their footsteps as they headed to the open door, the two still muttering on about something as they entered the room and closed the door behind them. Grinning to herself, Mary crept down the hall after them.

"Okay, let's see where this door will take us now," Garry said as he twisted the key in the lock and the doorknob gave way. Hands trembling, half expecting the killer to be waiting for them on the other side of the door, he pushed it open.

There was another lit room before them, empty racks meant for costumes lining one wall and extremely old looking mannequins on the other. Some of them even had dresses on them still, the fabric torn at the edges and the color dull.

"Creepy," Ib observed, moving past her companion who stood still in the doorway. Her shoulder brushed against his arm, and she faintly noticed the sudden stiffness Garry seemed to acquire. _How odd_.

"Th-this is really strange," Garry uttered, glancing around them. "It's like it used to be the backstage or something, but it was never cleaned out all the way." He shied away from one of the mannequins that he noticed he was standing too close to.

"It would appear so."

As they both took a few steps more, the sound of the door opening from the room before met their ears. Garry spun around immediately, eyes wide with fear, Ib suddenly at his side and clutching his sleeve. They were only a little relieved to see an equally scared blond gaping at them from her spot by the door.

"H-holy…you scared me!" the blond squeaked, both hands pressed against her chest. She looked to be no more than a year or two older than Ib, face flushed and blue eyes glassy as though she were about to cry.

Ib released her grip on Garry's shirt, not having realized she reached for it instinctively, and took a tentative step forward towards the girl. "Are you alright?" she asked.

The girl squeezed her eyes shut and firmly nodded her head 'yes'. While she didn't appear to be alright, Ib wouldn't press it any further. She had other inquiries to make.

"What are you doing here?" the brunette asked.

Taking a deep breath, the newcomer answered, "I saw that body out on the stage! There was so much blood! I…I couldn't believe it." It looked like she was struggling to keep herself from breaking out into sobs at any moment.

"So you came here?" Garry had spoken up this time.

The girl nodded again. "I heard someone coming and thought it might be whoever did that to that poor guy," she explained, "so I ran off the stage. I got lost though, and it was too dark to see anything, until I saw the light from the room."

Something about the girl wasn't quite right, Garry realized. She made him uncomfortable. But, he couldn't place what it was, and it seemed that Ib wasn't as put off by her as he was. Instead, she seemed rather sympathetic.

"You can join us," Ib offered. "We've found some very weird clues, and we think the killer might be some kind of psychopath you'd see on Criminal Minds. It's not safe to be walking around here alone."

The way Ib said it was so blasé, like she was asking the girl to accompany them on a trip to the mall. It made the situation sound so ridiculously impossible. But, Garry was too scared to question it much, in case there really was a psychopathic killer biding her time before she beat their heads in. He refused to let his guard down at this point, just in case.

Her face brightening, the blond hurried towards Ib and took her hands in hers. "I'm so grateful! I thought I was for sure going to die tonight!"

Ib, offering a nervous smile, shrugged. "It's fine. Don't worry about it. Let's just get going, okay?"

"Okay! My name is Mary, by the way." The blond let go of Ib's hands and turned her smile upon Garry, who had to struggle to keep himself from grimacing at the uneasy feeling he was getting in his stomach.

"I'm Ib, and this is Garry."

Garry had already turned and started towards the other end of the room as they had been before, leaving the two girls to trail behind and finish introductions. Whatever it was about Mary that made Garry so uncomfortable had not dissipated, and he had a bad feeling that there was more to her story than what she was offering. But, luckily for her sake, something in the corner of the room caught his eye, and he decided Mary would be dealt with later.

There was a very demented looking doll hanging from a rope that demanded his attention.


	6. Demonic Toys and Locked Doors

The doll had clearly been left behind by the killer, that much Garry was certain of. And after the shock of his attention being caught by it, he realized that it wasn't alone – there were two other dolls hanging in a similar manner in a path behind it. They all looked alike; the same stained fabric for skin, beige matted in mud and hues of red, eerily resembling blood; sadistic smiles stitched onto their faces unevenly; different colored dresses with worn hems and a light blanket of lint sticking to the linen. Everything about the dolls gave Garry the creeps, and even though he _knew_ it was impossible, it felt like their sloppily sewn-on button eyes were smirking at him as he shifted his weight anxiously.

Ib was clearly less distressed, approaching the one closest to them to study it closely. Her mouth twitched with what Garry thought was a frown as she reached up to grab the doll's hand and gently spin it around, looking for something. Their new companion seemed to be as uncomfortable as Garry was.

"Ib, don't touch those!" Mary whined. "They look scary." She sounded more like a little girl than a college student. But, then again, Garry was sure he would sound just as bad, if not worse, if he could muster up the courage to say something.

Wrinkling her brow, Ib turned back to them and shrugged her shoulders. "I don't understand what these dolls are doing here. There doesn't seem to be any kind of clue on them, and the killer obviously wants to play this game with us," she said with a slight hint of frustration in her voice. Her eyes flicked to the unopened door a few feet away on the other end of the room, the gears in her mind obviously whirling as she thought of possibilities for the dolls' significance.

The girl moved towards the door without any other word and reached for the doorknob, expecting to be met with resistance. But, to Garry's surprise, it twisted easily against her palm and the door opened.

Immediately, Garry wished it hadn't.

"I'm going to have nightmares about this," he muttered behind the younger girl, his pitch slightly higher than usual.

The room was about the size of the one they were already in, dimly lit and the air thick with the smell of must and mold. There was a narrow path that was cleared for someone to walk through, but Garry couldn't imagine why anyone would want to. Tables and chairs had been pushed haphazardly against the walls of the room, and every inch of their surfaces was covered in dolls. If the dolls in the old prop room were scary, these were downright demons.

Each doll was made from indigo blue fabric with the same unevenly stitched mouths on their misshapen faces, but they stretched further, almost up into the black button eyes that had been sewn on with red thread. Black felt had been cut to make the hair on each of their heads and it was caked in what looked like dry, flaking glue and dirt. There was even a stench that emanated off of them that reminded Garry of dirty socks and old garbage. It was nauseating.

"I don't like this," Mary whimpered, hiding behind Garry's much taller form.

The male inhaled and let out a shaky breath, clenching his fists in an attempt to remain calm and not show just how much the dolls freaked him out. Luckily for him, Ib didn't seem to notice and she took a tentative step into the room to take a look.

"Ib! Wait!" Garry pled. "Let me check it out first, okay?" He didn't know why he blurted out those words, the idea of being surrounded in a room full of manic children's toys the very picture of Hell for him, but something that he suspected was chivalry chided him for being such a coward – especially when Ib, who was nine years his junior, was about to march inside fearlessly. It didn't help that he was starting to feel some kind of protectiveness and affection for the girl, even if he had only known her a few hours and led her down into this nightmare. He felt completely responsible for making sure he got her to safety after this.

With a determined purse of his lips, he strode past Ib and into the eerie room. _You're a freaking idiot, you know that? _He chided himself silently, fighting the shiver that threatened to run down his spine. The dolls were staring at him, through his very soul it felt. He would definitely being running from these things when he fell asleep that night.

_If you even survive that long._

* * *

Mary was seriously excited about this couple. They were _flawless_. She could not wait to see their faces when they got even further into the game and came against more of her set ups. Not once did they let their facades down and slip out of character, and even when some of her stuff wasn't all that good – yeah, she admitted she had come up with better scenarios in the past – these people _ate it up_ like no one's business.

This was the part she was looking forward to most, when they came across the doll room. It was the creation of both her and Weiss' imaginations, both agreeing that those things at the dollar store were frightening like none other and that it would be a perfect addition to their game. After they had dirtied the dolls up a bit, the two drama club members stuffed them all in the room with a hint hidden inside for someone to find.

They had conjured up the best of plans for that room and for the poor soul that happened across it first.

"H-hey, Ib," Mary began slowly, forcing her voice to quiver, "I think I see something over there in the corner. Maybe you should check it out." She pointed back to the wall behind them.

Ib nodded and furrowed her brow in determination, following Mary's line of vision. She set to work on finding whatever it was that the older girl thought she saw, unable to see said girl inching towards the door to the doll room with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

* * *

By Garry's second step inside, he was ready to have a panic attack. Those toys were staring him down and crawling under his skin with their promises of later mental torture. He had a feeling they'd subconsciously creep into his paintings in the next few weeks.

"Guys, I really don't know what I'm look—"

He had turned to shoot Ib a desperate glance in hopes of getting some help, but she was no longer in the doorframe. Instead, the new blonde in their little troupe was eagerly pushing the door closed with a soft _click_ of the lock.

"Whoa! W-wait!"

But it was too late. The blonde must not have seen him turn around or heard him, because suddenly he was shrouded in darkness and confusion. Why had Mary shut the door? She had absolutely no reason to imprison him inside the hellhole, unless…

Garry's eyes went wide. He practically slammed his body into the door, fists pounding against the painted wood as horror washed over him and drowned him in sweat and thoughts of death.

"Ib! Ib, let me out! Help!" His trembling hands were clawing at the obstruction, growing more frantic with each heartbeat and each gasp of air that scratched his throat. "Please! Ib!"

* * *

The small brunette had jumped at the sound of Garry's muffled cries and desperate attempts of escape. Having found nothing in the corner of the room, she turned to give Mary an apologetic shrug and was about to ask why she looked so frightened when the noises startled her.

"What the hell just happened?" Ib snapped at Mary. She rushed towards the door in long, urgent strides.

"The door just closed on its own, I swear," the older girl lied, clutching her wringing hands to her chest. "I-I thought I heard it click, like it locked though!"

Ib wrenched at the doorknob and found, much to her dismay, that Mary was right. It had locked itself when it closed. "Shit," she hissed.

"_Ib, please! Get me out of here!_"

Her heart dropped at the sound of pure terror in Garry's muffled voice and she began to pull at the stubborn partition with all of the strength she could muster while Mary looked on, face pale.

"Garry, it won't budge!" Ib called back in frustration. She hadn't felt more panicked the whole night than she did then, which was a little strange, she recognized, since finding a bloody body should have affected her much more than this did. But something in her snapped when she realized Garry was stuck. Sure, he had been the one to lead her down into this waking nightmare, but it wasn't entirely his fault. He had just been trying to help her, even if he obviously had no clue where he was going. And, he had just taken her spot in that awful room. It could have easily been her stuck inside had he not volunteered to go instead, and she didn't even want to think about her own breakdown had she been in his position. It was pretty easy for her to act calm and not display much of anything besides indifference when she wanted to, but this was beyond her abilities. Those dolls were monstrous.

"_Is Mary still out there with you?_"

Ib's lips turned downward into a frown. What did that matter? "Yeah, she's still out here," she called back, glancing at Mary and mirroring her look of confusion.

There was silence on the other side of the door, like Garry was trying to think about something.

"Maybe there's something in the room that could help you, Garry?" Mary had stepped beside Ib.

Garry wouldn't say a word for another few seconds before Ib could hear him shuffling against the door and taking a ragged breath. "_I…I don't know. It's dark, and there's just a bunch of these creepy dolls in here_," he responded. "_Ib, do you think you could slide your phone under the door so I can use it as a light?_"

Without a moment's hesitation, Ib dug her phone out of her purse and crouched down to do as Garry requested. She waited until the saw a faint light under the door to stand up straight again, satisfied that he had found it in the darkness. "Look for a another clue to get the key for this door!" she called. "You may have to check the dolls!"

Ib could hear Garry gulp through the door, and once again it felt like her heart was breaking for him. _Poor guy. _She'd have to think of a way to repay him for everything if they managed to get out of the Rec Center in one piece that night, because she wasn't sure if she could handle those dolls without losing her mind, and he was doing a pretty good job at keeping his sanity.

There was a shaky gasp for air before Ib finally heard Garry speak again, the voice sounding more faint through the wood than before.

"_Well, here goes nothing, I guess._"

* * *

A/N: Thanks for reading! I'm feeling like this is finally starting to pick up a little on the drama side, so I'm really hoping you guys will enjoy this chapter. (and I promise that some romance is gonna sneak up on our two heroes soon~ oh ho ho!) Anywho, reviews are awesome, and if you have any suggestions or questions, hit me up with 'em! I'd love to hear your ideas.


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